---
title: "Index the complaint file against section 51, including the production limit"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/health-and-medical-law/index-a-health-complaint-file-for-material-the-damages-claim-cannot-use/new-south-wales"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A32-MN20261023-5-NSW"
practice_area: "Health & Medical Law"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["NSW"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-25"
---

# Index the complaint file against section 51, including the production limit

> From the complaint file the lawyer has selected, index each document with its date, author and whether it is a conciliation document or something else.…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/health-and-medical-law/index-a-health-complaint-file-for-material-the-damages-claim-cannot-use/new-south-wales  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-25

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Health & Medical Law](https://ailawframework.com/practice/health-and-medical-law.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | From the complaint file the lawyer has selected, index each document with its date, author and whether it is a conciliation document or something else. Mark conciliation evidence and conciliation documents as not admissible unless the consents in section 51(3) are on the file. Do not summarise a clinical opinion. |
| What the lawyer must review | The lawyer decides what, if anything, from the complaint file may be used in the damages claim. Leave a conciliation document out unless the consents in section 51(3) are on the file. Keep health and wage records in a firm-controlled tool, not a public one. ASCR r 9 and APP 11 apply. Decide if a breach is notifiable under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). |
| Written for | New South Wales |
| Applies to | [Index a health-complaint file for material the damages claim cannot use](https://ailawframework.com/practice/health-and-medical-law/index-a-health-complaint-file-for-material-the-damages-claim-cannot-use.md) |

## Checking plan

**Verify against sources**

Section 51 makes evidence of what was said or admitted in conciliation, and a document prepared for or in the course of conciliation, not admissible. The consents in section 51(3) are required before that changes. Section 51(4) limits production.

- What the AI does: From the complaint file the lawyer has selected, index each document with its date, author and whether it is a conciliation document or something else. Mark conciliation evidence and conciliation documents as not admissible unless the consents in section 51(3) are on the file. Do not summarise a clinical opinion.
- What the lawyer does: Make the legal assessment, check the source material and authorise the output for its intended use.
- Who reviews: Lawyer competent in this practice area
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 23 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Checks the lawyer makes

1. Mark each document as prepared for or in the course of conciliation, or not, from the document itself.
2. Section 51(1): evidence of anything said or of any admission made during conciliation is not admissible before a court, tribunal or body.
3. Section 51(2): a document prepared for the purposes of, or in the course of, conciliation, or a copy, is not admissible. Section 51(3) requires the consent of the persons who attended or were named and, for a document, all persons named in it.
4. Section 51(4): a person cannot be required, by subpoena or otherwise, to produce that evidence or document.

## Notes

- Section 58 was not opened. Do not state an offence. A conciliation does not move the date in section 50C.
- If this is filed in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Practice Note SC Gen 23, issued on 28 January 2025 and commenced on 3 February 2025, bars generative AI from the content of an affidavit or witness statement, and from an expert report without prior leave, subject to paragraph 23.

## Practical guide

Jurisdiction: New South Wales. An index of a health-complaint file against section 51.

**Deliverable**: An index of the complaint file, with conciliation material marked as not for use unless the section 51(3) consents are present.

**Inputs**

- The complaint file the lawyer has selected
- Any consents the lawyer has marked on the file

**Example**: Illustrative example: A document was prepared during conciliation and names two people. The index marks it not admissible and records that both named people, and the persons who attended or were named, have not consented.

**Stop and escalate when**

- The tool is asked to summarise a clinical opinion in a conciliation document.
- The tool is asked to treat the document as admissible without the section 51(3) consents.

Checked 2026-10-23.

## Sources

- [Health Care Complaints Act 1993 (NSW) section 51](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/hcca1993204/s51.html) (checked 2026-10-23)
- [Supreme Court of NSW Practice Note SC Gen 23](https://supremecourt.nsw.gov.au/practice-procedure/generative-artificial-intelligence.html) (checked 2026-10-23)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Health Care Complaints Commission complaint form](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/health-and-medical-law/form-nsw-hccc-complaint.md) | Form | Yellow | Link to the Health Care Complaints Commission written complaint form, including who may complain, the consent to health information, and the outcomes the Commission says it cannot order. |
| [Health service complaint form (Office of the Health Ombudsman)](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/health-and-medical-law/form-qld-oho-health-complaint.md) | Form | Yellow | Link to the Office of the Health Ombudsman health service complaint form, for a complaint about a health service or a practitioner in Queensland. |
| [Health Complaints Commissioner online complaint](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/health-and-medical-law/form-vic-hcc-online-complaint.md) | Form | Yellow | Link to the Health Complaints Commissioner complaint, lodged online, by phone or by mail, after the person has raised it with the health service where they can. |
| [Letter to the Health Complaints Commissioner about a complaint and a damages claim](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/health-and-medical-law/vic-hcc-claim-interaction-letter.md) | Letter | Yellow | A letter to the Victorian Health Complaints Commissioner noting that a damages claim is also being considered, and asking how the complaint will be dealt with.… |
| [Right to information access application to the Office of the Health Ombudsman](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/health-and-medical-law/form-qld-oho-rti-access.md) | Form | Yellow | Link to the Queensland Right to Information access application, which the Office of the Health Ombudsman asks applicants to complete and return to it. |
| [Complaint letter to a health service (Health Complaints Commissioner template)](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/health-and-medical-law/form-vic-hcc-complaint-letter.md) | Form | Yellow | Link to the Commissioner's letter template for a written complaint to the health service provider before a complaint is lodged with the Commissioner. |
| [Letter to the Health Ombudsman about a complaint and a damages claim](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/health-and-medical-law/qld-oho-claim-interaction-letter.md) | Letter | Yellow | A letter to the Queensland Health Ombudsman noting that a damages claim is also being considered, and that conciliation material is not for use in court.… |
| [Letter to the Health Care Complaints Commission about a complaint and a damages claim](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/health-and-medical-law/nsw-hccc-claim-interaction-letter.md) | Letter | Yellow | A letter to the New South Wales Health Care Complaints Commission noting that a damages claim is separate and that the Commission is not asked to order compensation.… |

Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*